Posts tagged “grey horse”

So this is the final painting of the challenge. Meet ‘Mr T’ who is owned by my friend, Caz. We have enjoyed many hacks out together over the pass few years and I am so grateful to Caz for giving me the opportunity to ride him at times when I had no horse to ride. I produced a pencil drawing of ‘T’ for one of my 100 day challenge pieces two years ago and thought it would finish the 30 day challenge off nicely if I were to finally depict him in paint.

With this one being the final painting, it has made me think about what I’ve learnt from the project. I had only made the progression from pencil to paint just over a year ago and felt that I had a long way to go in terms of learning about colour and how to use oils properly. So when Jane asked me if I’d like to take part in a painting challenge I jumped at the chance as I knew it would be a good learning curve but deep down I had doubts as to whether I could actually do it.

I felt completely comfortable using oils from the very beginning of the challenge and knew that this medium was the right one for me but was worried about the drying times and whether I could get one done in a day. The project allowed me to get to grips with how they worked, what effects could be made and just how quickly I could paint with them. I found that by using them thinly and using a quick drying medium with the paint, it enabled me to complete them quite easily within a day. After painting for an entire month with oils I have fallen in love with them even more and now feel I’m beginning to find my own style, a style which I can now start to build upon in future works.

Colour was also an issue and I truly believed that it would become a problem for me once the challenge had started. For years I have been daunted by colour with colour mixing being the scariest thing of all for me together with what colours to put down in a painting instead of just one colour alone. To my amazement, the more I started to ‘look’ at what i was painting, the more colours I was seeing. I felt like I had had a lightbulb moment and realised that I hadn’t been ‘looking’ at things properly. Since the challenge Ican now see all sorts of different colours around me and I really enjoy trying to work out what paint colours I’d use to recreate certain objects, especially when I’m out walking. It really is as though a veil has been lifted from my eyes and I can finally see things properly. I would say this is one of the greatest achievements I have gained from doing this challenge.

The 30 day challenge has been an incredible journey for both Jane and I and it has helped us both to progress in different ways. I would certainly recommend that all artists set themselves at least one challenge a year to help develop their work. I would just like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Jane for asking me to paint alongside her, it truly was an absolute pleasure. I would also like to say thank you to all of our Facebook fans for supporting us and for taking the time to like and comment on our posts. It is such a fabulous feeling to know that so many people appreciate what we do and we can’t thank you enough.

Here’s to the completion of our 30 day painting challenge and we hope you can all join us for the next one! 😉 xxx

Low resolution images are used for each painting day, this is to help to prevent unauthorised usage and downloading, hence the colours may vary slightly from that of the original.

A higher resolution image is available to view if you may be interested in purchase.

Yep, after the 100 paintings in 100 days challenge of 2011, I’ve been challenged again, but this time it is a more manageable size! Infact I’m sharing the 30 day painting spree with fellow equestrian artist Roxanne Gooderham….. We are doing alternate days and producing 15 paintings each.

I’ve bought myself some oil paints – a new medium for me and I thought there was no better way to get to know them than to jump in at the deep end. I’ve probably done about 10 oil paintings over the past few months, and just love the sticky, shiny gloopiness that gives the paint a lovely gloss and blendability.

My only problem is that I broke my wrist last week, but it’s not my painting hand, so shouldn’t hold me back too much!

My explanation for this furious painting activity is:

“Jane’s favourite medium is acrylics and she is inspired by the fall of light and colour in shadow. She has used acrylics for almost 20 years but now she is increasingly using coloured pencils and just starting to work in oil paints.
She is intending to use this artistic challenge as an opportunity to experiment and develop more confidence and expression within her pencil work and to open up the self-imposed constraints of her acrylic paintings by creating more atmosphere and intrigue by working with the oils in a more creative manner….
An artist always ‘up for a challenge’, Jane will be working this challenge alongside her teaching activities and commission work, so the scale of the pieces produced will be directly influenced by the time available each day….”

Below are three examples of my new work using oils… I’m more able to describe a shiny coat and the sparkle in the eyes…..

Bay Mare I

Bay Mare II

All of my 15 paintings over 30 days will be for sale unless stated reserved. If you would like me to consider one of your images to paint, please send to arrkidd@yahoo.co.uk

I would be grateful for any support or encouragement you can give me as I will still be teaching, looking after my Duracell daughter, doing a pony club camp and running two art courses in my studio through August, so it won’t just be a case of painting every day, it may be a case of finding time to paint at all!

I’m learning Photoshop skills, very slowly! I had a wonderful book for a Christmas gift from my brother and this resulted in a lightbulb moment…..
I had got ‘stuck’ with a painting – I knew it wasn’t right, but what I didn’t know is where to take it next and how to complete it.. I knew that the background was wrong, that the lighting seemed uneven… all in all I just was not happy

Unfinished….

My start point was a background that had already been repainted four times.. I exmerimented with the image in pgotoshop and found the right colour… then it was simply just a job of painting in the right colour and adjustingv the lighting….. Finally completed!

My second experiment I took my original reference photograph and worked it in Photoshop with a number of other layers. I created the image exactly how I wanted to paint it, then ran to the studio to get cracking… As I worked, the painting and my ideas evolved as I changed the shadows and added silver leaf….

The below images show this process….

Arabian stallion, Southern France, 2012

Photoshop image

on route….

Completed painting, 18 x 24″‘Full Moon’

Now I can almost use Photoshop, I’m not intending to bypass my sketchbook every time, it was just that the computer manipulation gave me the chance to be brave at the click of a button!

In preparation for booking my flights for a painting holiday in France (with David Mcewan at www.paintfrance.com) I’m stoking up my obsession for white horses to practice for painting the little white Camargue horses.

Thing is my horses are anything but white!

Many moons ago, whilst attending a workshop run by The Society Of Equestrian Artists, the great Malcolm Coward (sporting and equestrian artist/guru) told me I used way too much white… I cannot remember his exact words as it is now over 10 years ago… but he said that there was only ever a ‘sliver’ of white on a ‘white’ horse, and that I had to look harder and see more colour….

One of Malcolm’s Books…..

It probably took a number of years until these wise words sunk in and I really understood what he was telling me…. In fact, I sort of wish the penny had dropped quicker for me, but everything in their own time, eh?

So, inspired to paint the Camargue ponies, hoping that whilst on my holiday I can take hundreds of my own reference photos to work from back in the studio, I searched out an image and set off working….. I have taken a number of progress shots to share my methods, procedures, mutterings and brushwork as I went.

The reality is that I will have to sell this painting to be able to fund my trip! Any takers???

Stage 1.

Working to a pencil line sketch, with tonal variations marked, I start to lay in some base washes onto the lead horse. I’m using acrylic paint as though it was watercolour…. Why? Well I find I can badly cheat on the complex watercolour rules of technique! I can lay down some of the darker tones and wash over them with a thin glaze of lighter shades, knowing that the underlayers will not move or bleed. In this way I can keep the accuracy I crave and not turn my painting into a muddy mess of layers.. all being well that is the intention anyway!

I do love the colour combination of brilliant blue alongside the warms of a burnt sienna… really does it for me!

Stage 2.

I keep on adding the base colours and looking for the shadows and darker tones. I know at this point that one major area of difficulty will be the flowing tail hairs, which I’m really not looking forward to trying to paint. The darker legs get some layers of an ultramarine and umber mix and then I glaze back over the dry paint with a weak brilliant blue to give a tint of colour, something which I wouldn’t have been able to do in true watercolour medium. The more I look at the reference picture I am working from, the more peaches, pinks, lilacs and purples I see.I’m trying to leave a minimal amount of naked white paper, but also trying to be subtle. Times like this I wish I could have a little more courage and get a stronger tone without feeling so worried!

Stages 3 and 4.

The basic colour layering and tonal work is developed further and continued into the two other horses. I want my lead horse to stand out in the foreground, so I’m hoping to make her darker and use a higher level of detail. I’m allowing the rear two horses to be lighter and more suggestive… at this point I’m struggling a little with the tonal balance.. I need a lot more layers!

I’m also considering if I am going to add a background, as I quite like the bareness of the paper.. I realise also that I will need at least, to state some cast shadows and ground surface detail, so I’m still undecided… ho hum….

Stage 5

Now I’m really pilling on the layers, steadily darkening the tones, I seem to be progressively adding layer and layer of brilliant blue, each one acting as a thin veil of colour, gradually achieving the required depth, I hope.

I’m still considering the background (or lack of!) trees, pebbles and hedgerows are not my strong point, and in fact, hedges are most probably number one on my most-hated-list. These horses are galloping in the air though, and are really in need of some grounding. Humbug…..

Stage 6 and 7

I’ve bitten the bullet and started to add a background and of course, instantly, regretted this. BLOW IT.

I now feel really harassed knowing I have to commit to hedgerow, pebbles et al….. Totally my own fault. So I head back to the easel with a very strong coffee, put some monotonous dance music on to give me ‘energy in the zone’, push my sleeves up and crack on with the job in hand.

mutter

Stage 8.

After a good few hours slog, much coffee and muttering, I think I am coming out of ‘the other end’. I feel much happier with the background and thank goodness, now feel that I may have made the right choice! I again feel I have made the right medium choice for me; I’m in acrylic and now have applied maybe 15 glaze washes over the foreground, and then a pinky-peach wash over the horses and the sky so that hardly any bare paper is remaining. In watercolour, my whole image would be swimming away like the painting in the flake advert!

Am I finished?

I’m not 100% sure. I may need gto go darker in the cast shadows, put more definition into the rear two horses, add more colour to the roadside vegetation…. But to be honest, my eyes are now too tired to keep painting and the coffee has done it’s worst, I’m yawning wide and caffine wired!

This piece entitled ‘White Horses’ will be for sale within a week. I’m going to stare at it all weekend to judge if I can improve it without spoling it or overpainting. The funds of the sale will go directly to my ‘Camargue fund’ to pay for a horseback day trip to collect hopefully, a delectable cselection of reference photos. Fingers crossed!

Thank you for joining me on my blog. I will keep you updated on any action in the painting studio!

I think I must be feeling a little poetic tonight! I’ve been busy in the studio having some experimental fun with my new gold atelier interactive metallic paint… it’s not as good as gold leaf I think, but it is rather nice to smear around with my fingers and make a total mess of my door handles around the home…..

I have the Open Studio event approaching in May, and I’m wanting to create a series of small affordable originals to entice possible buyers…..!! None of us have the money to buy big pieces at the moment, so I have decided to think small and to let some creativity flow.

Getting messy

number 1- 6x8"

number 2- 12 x 16"

number 3 -10 x 12"

number 4- 10 x 12"

I’m not sure which one is my favourite as yet, nor am I settled on titles.. I’m going to let them come to me over night then I may re-blog tomorrow…. I still have a tendency to over work experimental pieces, looking back, I really enjoy some of the stages these pieces go through, and maybe I should be a little braver and stop sooner???

just starting

another beginning

It would be interesting to know what you think about stopping sooner…. could be a totally new departure for my work! As for title suggestions… all welcomed! All the above pieces are for sale, please email me for further details (arrkidd@yahoo.co.uk)

I’ve torn myself away from a growing fetish for Lorenzo’s grey horses… to paint another lovely grey… This is Seb… I’ve used my Atelier Interactive acrylics to achieve more of a blended surface today.. the reference photo had no sharp detail so I’ve tried to paint in a softer manner adding lots of colour..

A big thank you to my facebook friend, Ann Savage, for allowing me to paint this beautiful horse….

I’m really feeling more confident with my colour mixing now, and can get what I want quicker and with less frequent mutterings and cups of coffee!!!

Lorenzo is now going to have to wait till after my 100 days…..

Purchases available through Paypal or by personal cheque.

Deposit secures. Installment plan available.

If you are interested in making a purchase, please contact me either by text or email.

It’s a Lorenzo continuum…… from yesterday’s day 87 painting, I’ve worked with pen and ink, watercolour and indian ink with a brush on this piece… I really need to go bigger… but today was my mum’s 73rd birthday, so we had a fab meal out at the 3 acres, chilled, I had a visitor to buy a painting and we all chilled… this is only A4 size, but big enough for the timescale!

More Lorenzo to come….

Lorenzo in action

Lots more Lorenzo to come……

Purchases available through Paypal or by personal cheque.

Deposit secures. Installment plan available.

If you are interested in making a purchase, please contact me either by text or email.

I’ve enlarged the scale today and really enjoyed working with more energy and looser marks….. I’ve used my black onyx pencil- this gives less of a graphite metallic gleam and sits a little darker on the paper giving a matt finish…..

No big detail today either, my asthma has reared it’s ugly head necessitating the nebulizer coming back out; this amount of ventolin input gives my hands a tremor, so fine detail is out of the question, instead I’ve cross-hatched and scribbled in the darker tones…..

My reference is from the photographs I took at this years Yorkshire Show of Lorenzo in the main ring ( apologies to Lorenzo though, as I don’t feature him at all, just the four front lead horses as they gallop across the arena with Lorenzo solidly stood on the centre two horses backs……)

Lorenzo in action

Lots more Lorenzo to come……

Purchases available through Paypal or by personal cheque.

Deposit secures. Installment plan available.

If you are interested in making a purchase, please contact me either by text or email.

After yesterday’s mammoth effort, I sidled off to The Great Yorkshire Show today, I didn’t forget my duties though, this is a sketch from life of the two donkeys at ‘The Donkey Sanctuary’ stand….

So, what else was I up to? I hear you ask…… I did 1116 photos, and have now had chance to download, crop and faff in general, and have some smashing new material to paint….

I’ve enclosed a few below to show you that I’ve been ‘on the ball’ all day! I hope you enjoy this brief selection….

I’m now wanting to start painting my new reference material, but I’ve still a number of my ‘100’ paintings that are spoken for… a fab jack Russel, a young golden lab pup, a gorgeous pony sadly put down after a road traffic accident, I need to keep my creativity in line and attend to the images I was on track with before I gathered my new inspiration that will have to wait- also, I don’t want to have to half-kill myself to get this new stuff done in one-day sessions!!!

Purchases available through Paypal or by personal cheque.

Deposit secures. Installment plan available.

If you are interested in making a purchase, please contact me either by text or email.